Series six of Peaky Blinders will air this weekend, with audiences transported back to post-war Birmingham.
The much-loved Shelby family are returning to our screens for the next instalment of the smash-hit gangster drama.
There’ll be a notable absence in season six though – Helen McCrory, who played matriarch Polly Gray, sadly died last April after a private cancer battle.
A tribute to the actor is believed to air in the season premiere this week.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the return of Peaky Blinders.
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What is the release date for Peaky Blinders season six?
Cillian Murphy will be back in season six of Peaky Blinders. Credit: BBC
Producers finally revealed the release date for the sixth instalment of Peaky Blinders last week.
Creator Steven Knight had previously said they were aiming for a springtime release – but fans were pleasantly surprised by how early the episodes will begin.
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The release date was revealed with a huge mural painted by Manchester’s mural king and legendary street artist, Akse P19.
It’s all set to kick off on Sunday February 27 from 9pm.
It’s then set to air one episode a week at 9pm on Sundays.
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Where to watch Peaky Blinders season six
Tommy and Arthur Shelby in Peaky Blinders. Credit: BBC
Although the previous series of Peaky Blinders are all available to watch on Netflix, it won’t be the streaming platform that gets first dibs on the new episodes.
Episodes will only air once a week, and there’s expected to be six in total, as in previous series.
Where was season six filmed?
The Peaky Blinders cast in a previous series filming at Victoria Baths in Manchester. Credit: BBC
A lot of the scenes in the final instalment of Peaky Blinders were filmed right here in Manchester, despite the drama being based in Birmingham.
Huge sets were built around Castlefield, with the ancient cobbled streets transformed into both Chinatown and Small Heath.
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Crews even built a mock frontage for the Garrison pub, which is owned by the Shelby family.
Cillian Murphy was also spotted filming scenes on a narrowboat on the canals in Castlefield.
It’s not the first time the drama has visited our city – scenes from previous series were shot around Mangle Street, London Road Fire Station, Victoria Baths and Stockport Plaza.
What happened at the end of the last series?
If you haven’t watched season five yet – stop reading now, spoilers lie ahead.
It was an action-packed few weeks with the Shelby family, including plenty of sex, violence and politics.
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The season began with the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the decimation of the Shelby finances, which drives a huge wedge between Tommy and Michael (Polly’s son).
Meanwhile, Tommy is now MP for Birmingham South, and feeding information about fascist Oswald Mosley to British intelligence services.
At the end of the series, Tommy’s attempt to assassinate Mosley in an elaborate plan backfires, resulting in the death of Polly’s fiance Aberama Gold.
The bold cliffhanger saw Tommy’s PTSD in full, devastating effect, with the show’s star strolling into a field with a gun to his head.
Will he pull the trigger? We’ll soon find out.
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What has the creator said?
Steven Knight has confirmed that this will be the last series of Peaky Blinders, but a feature-length film is planned to properly tie things up.
In an interview with the BBC, Knight said: “I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I would just say: Tommy is about to face enemies and demons more powerful than anything he’s ever faced before.
“It’s the mid 1930s, fascism is on the rise, the Shelbys are more powerful than ever. But demons are coming to reclaim Tommy Shelby.
“What I’ve wanted from the beginning is to start off with a character who seems irredeemable. Who is switched off completely; whose humanity has been torn out of him by his experiences in the war.
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“And then slowly bring him back to life, to turn him back into a human being over the however many hours that we’ve done. And I think at the end of six, for all the bad things that he’s done, Tommy is a human being.”
Featured image: BBC
TV & Showbiz
Mancs wanted to test their willpower in the wilderness for ‘life-changing’ cash prize in new TV show
Emily Sergeant
Mancs who are willing to put their willpower to the test in a bid to win a ‘life-changing’ cash prize are wanted for a new TV show.
Are you prepared to take on the ultimate test of willpower? Channel 4 is currently casting for the potential next series of the smash-hit show, Tempting Fortune, and is calling on brave people from across Greater Manchester to apply to take part.
Tempting Fortune is described as being a ‘groundbreaking social experiment’.
Filmed in a distant paradise, this epic series full of twists and turns – which ended its gripping second season last Sunday (6 April) – gives a group of regular people the chance to take part in an adventure ‘with a twist’ and earn a ‘substantial cash reward’ at the end of it.
Mancs willing to test their willpower in the wilderness are wanted for a new TV show / Credit: Channel 4
But what stands in the way of that cash prize is the wilderness, and contestants will be tasked with grappling with the elements, the terrain, and their own willpower along the way.
A casting call for the potential upcoming next series of the show on the Channel 4 website reads: “We are casting for fun, diverse individuals from all different backgrounds.
“We are looking for applicants who are excited by the challenge of embarking on a new adventure that will test them both physically and mentally.”
Find out more and apply on the Channel 4 website here.
Featured Image – Channel 4
TV & Showbiz
Fans are literally FLYING to Holmes Chapel to walk in the footsteps of Harry Styles
Daisy Jackson
Now I think we can all agree that Harry Styles is one of the North West’s finest musical exports (even if he has disappeared off the face of the planet since his Love on Tour tour) – but taking a flight just to visit his teenage haunts? It’s a lot.
But that is how dedicated the former One Direction star’s fans are, flocking across oceans to visit his first place of work, his old school, and even the house he used to live in.
Earlier this year, the village of Holmes Chapel in Cheshire released a self-guided Harry Styles tour, highlighting the village’s ‘many connections to Harry’.
They said that already, fans have flocked from all over the world to take on the tour.
The Holmes Chapel Partnership said: “Over the past year Holmes Chapel has seen an increase in visitors coming to pay homage to pop superstar Harry Styles who grew up in the village.
“We created this map as part of our ‘Safe Walking Routes’ project which shows the safest walking route from Holmes Chapel train station to the Viaduct, then continues through the village.”
Landmarks along the route include the Twemlow Viaduct, rumoured to be the site of Harry’s first kiss; the Mandeville’s Bakery where he worked on Saturdays before joining The X Factor; and the Fortune City Restaurant, a local Chinese where he once took Taylor Swift. Which is a sentence and a half…
The bakery in Holmes Chapel where Harry Styles used to work. Credit: Flickr, VagueonthehowThe Twemlow Viaduct, rumoured to be the site of his first kiss. Credit: Unsplash, David GriffithsHighlights of the Harry Styles tour in Holmes Chapel
Most tour journeys start at Holmes Chapel train station – now complete with a new mural of Harry Styles himself – before heading on into the village itself.
One fan recently shared their own journey to Harry’s hometown, which started with a flight (yes, actual air miles went into this day out) to get to Manchester before hopping on a train to Cheshire.
Documenting their tour on TikTok, the fan said they were ‘genuinely shaking’ as their train pulled into the village.
They then visited attractions like the small shop on the platform that sells merch, and has a visitor’s book where you can leave a message for Harry Styles – apparently, his dad comes to collect the books when they’re full.
Once reaching the bakery, they discovered a framed photograph of the One Direction band members – including the late Liam Payne – together eating pies, and wrote: “Nearly sobbed seeing this picture alone.”
Then it was a 25 minute walk across fields to the aforementioned viaduct, where countless fans have doodled messages on the brick in a colourful display.
“Having to say bye was so hard,” they wrote.
Of course, for those of us who live a few minutes from Holmes Chapel, calling this tour a tourist attraction seems a little bizarre.
One person said in the comments: “As someone from manchester, this is crazy. You flew to Holmes Chapel?”
Another asked: “Girl why did you go on a pilgrimage to his home town.”
All I hope is that someone scribbled in the visitor’s book ‘Where TF is new music, Harry!?’
Daisy Jackson -
25th February 2022 
